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Wondrous Words Wednesday — 10 Comments

  1. First of all, I’m glad to hear about this book. I didn’t know (or remember) that Oscar Wilde wrote children’s books. I’d love to see a linnet that looks like your picture. I’ve seen common finches but none that looked like that. Beautiful.

  2. Hi Joy,

    I am another one who didn’t know about the existence of this children’s book, but it sounds really interesting. As you commented, I can’t remember children’s books containing such difficult words, although another blogger I visited yesterday took her words from ‘The Wind In The Willows’, a favourite childhood book of mine, and the complexity of the words it contained amazed me and are certainly not any that I remember from my youth.

    ‘Porphyry’ is a great word and definitely not one that I have come across before, whereas a ‘Linnet’ would be quite commonly known of, here in the UK. ‘Anodyne’ is also one that I know, basically because we have a pain relief tablet that is also very popular here, called ‘Anadin’, so that’s a bit of a giveaway really, and some excellent marketing from the company who make it!

    Nice post and I loved the image of the ‘Linnet’, he looks like a bright cheerful little fellow.

    Enjoy the rest of your week

  3. i do believe that in the ‘old’ days they did teach much more difficult things at younger ages. I recently purchased a copy of the McGuffey Reader (the standard old reader for schools) it was first used in 1879. I was amazed at how advanced it is! Those kids learned to read with Shakespeare, Sir Walter Scott, John Milton, the Bible, Longfellow. We use ‘See Dick Run’ now. Great words Joy and thanks for stopping by my Post!

  4. They obviously knew more than me as well though I did know what a Linnet was but only because it is the name of a street near to mine which like all the neighbouring streets is named after a bird – I live in Sandpiper Place, there is also Curlew Close, Merlin Way and Linnet Lodge.

  5. Oscar Wilde is always a great source of wondrous words. Thanks for including the picture of the linnet, I think I’ve heard of them, but had no real idea what they looked like. I love the richness of the vocabulary of older childrens books. As you know I used The Wind in the Willows this week, which had so many new words, that I will have several weeks of posts from it! BTW I have a book of Oscar Wilde fairly tales, that I bought while I was pregnant with my son (now 11), I have to read them this year. It’s beyond ridiculous now.

  6. Pingback:Book Review: Stories for Children by Oscar Wilde and a Wilde visit to St. Louis | Joy's Book Blog